Data mesh visualization

ABSTRACT

In various example embodiments, a system and method for data mesh visualization are presented. An avatar representation of a user is generated. A user-specified change to the avatar representation is received and the avatar representation is changed based on the user-specified change. A current status of the user is determined, and an updated avatar representation is generated based on the current status of the user. The updated avatar is displayed in association with a communication of the user.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.15/848,351, filed Dec. 20, 2017, which is a continuation of U.S.application Ser. No. 14/449,113, filed Jul. 31, 2014, which claims thepriority benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/970,263, filedMar. 25, 2014, each of which is hereby incorporated by reference in itsentirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

Embodiments of the present disclosure relate generally to dataprocessing and, more particularly, but not by way of limitation, to datamesh visualization.

BACKGROUND

In recent years mobile devices, wearable devices, smart devices, and thelike have pervaded nearly every aspect of modern life. Such devices areincreasingly incorporating sensors to monitor everything from themoisture level of houseplants to the dribbling of a basketball. Networkconnected devices like these are capable of providing a near real-timeand constant data feed. These trends have provided a vast amount ofrich, constantly updated data.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Various ones of the appended drawings merely illustrate exampleembodiments of the present disclosure and cannot be considered aslimiting its scope.

FIG. 1A is a block diagram illustrating a networked system, according tosome example embodiments.

FIG. 1B illustrates a block diagram showing components provided withinthe system of FIG. 1A, according to some example embodiments.

FIG. 2A is a block diagram illustrating an example embodiment of a datamesh system, according to some example embodiments.

FIG. 2B is a block diagram illustrating an example embodiment of avisualization system, according to some example embodiments.

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram illustrating an example method for generating avisualization, according to some example embodiments.

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram illustrating further example operations of themethod of FIG. 3, according to some example embodiments.

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram illustrating an example method for determiningsatisfaction of reward criteria, according to some example embodiments.

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram illustrating further example operations of themethod of FIG. 3, according to some example embodiments.

FIG. 7 is a flow diagram illustrating various communications tofacilitate the method of FIG. 3, according to some example embodiments.

FIGS. 8, 9, 10A and 10B depict example user interfaces including examplevisualizations, according to some example embodiments.

FIGS. 11A and 11B depict example configurations for communicativelycoupling attribute sources, according to some example embodiments.

FIG. 12 depicts various example attribute sources, according to someexample embodiments.

FIG. 13 depicts various components that provide attribute data,according to some example embodiments.

FIG. 14 is a block diagram of an example data structure for exampleattribute data associated with a user, according to some exampleembodiments.

FIG. 15 is a block diagram of an example data structure for exampleattribute data associated with a device, according to some exampleembodiments.

FIG. 16 depicts an example mobile device and mobile operating systeminterface, according to some example embodiments.

FIG. 17 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a softwarearchitecture that may be installed on a machine, according to someexample embodiments.

FIG. 18 illustrates a diagrammatic representation of a machine in theform of a computer system within which a set of instructions may beexecuted for causing the machine to perform any one or more of themethodologies discussed herein, according to an example embodiment.

The headings provided herein are merely for convenience and do notnecessarily affect the scope or meaning of the terms used.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The description that follows includes systems, methods, techniques,instruction sequences, and computing machine program products thatembody illustrative embodiments of the disclosure. In the followingdescription, for the purposes of explanation, numerous specific detailsare set forth in order to provide an understanding of variousembodiments of the inventive subject matter. It will be evident,however, to those skilled in the art, that embodiments of the inventivesubject matter may be practiced without these specific details. Ingeneral, well-known instruction instances, protocols, structures, andtechniques are not necessarily shown in detail.

In various example embodiments, a visualization may be generated based,at least in part, on attribute data associated with a user. In anexample embodiment, attribute data may be received from a broad gamut ofattribute sources. For instance, the attribute data may include dataassociated with the user received from mobile devices, smart devices,smart homes, social network services, user profiles, browsing histories,or purchase histories. The collective, aggregated attribute data may bereferred to as a “data mesh.” Subsequent to receiving the attributedata, a user characteristic may be inferred based on an analysis of atleast a portion of the attribute data. In various example embodiments,the user characteristic may be a trait, quality, action, activity,attitude, health condition, habit, behavior, and the like. For example,physical characteristics of the user such as height, weight, fitnesslevel, and so on, may be inferred or measured directly from theattribute data. In an example embodiment, a visualization may begenerated based, at least in part, on the user characteristic. Thevisualization may be representative of the attribute data. For example,the visualization may be an avatar that includes physicalcharacteristics similar to the user. In this example, the visualizationmay be representative of the user. The visualization may be caused to bepresented to the user.

In further example embodiments, the user may provide user inputindicating a change to the visualization. The visualization may beupdated according to the change indicated by the user input. Subsequentinferred user characteristics may be based, at least in part, on theuser input. For example, if the visualization does not accuratelyreflect the user or the attribute data, the user may modify thevisualization. The modification may then be used as a basis to moreaccurately generate the visualization or more accurately infer the usercharacteristics.

In still further example embodiments, a reward may be provided to theuser based on a determined satisfaction of reward criteria. Forinstance, the reward criteria may include a criterion to complete aphysical activity such as a certain number of steps taken as determinedby a pedometer (e.g., an application executing on a mobile device of theuser that may determine steps taken). Based on exceeding a thresholdnumber of steps taken, the user may satisfy the reward criteria. In anexample embodiment, the reward may include additional feature for thevisualization (e.g., an additional accessory or function for thevisualization). In another instance, the reward criteria may beassociated with completeness of a profile. In this instance, the moreinformation the user provides or provides permission to access, thecloser the user may be to satisfying the reward criteria.

With reference to FIG. 1A, an example embodiment of a high-levelclient-server-based network architecture 100 is shown. A networkedsystem 102 provides server-side functionality via a network 104 (e.g.,the Internet or wide area network (WAN)) to a client device 110. A user(e.g., user 106) may interact with the networked system 102 using theclient device 110. FIG. 1A illustrates, for example, a web client 112(e.g., a browser, such as the Internet Explorer® browser developed byMicrosoft® Corporation of Redmond, Wash. State), client application(s)114, and a programmatic client 116 executing on the client device 110.The client device 110 may include the web client 112, the clientapplication(s) 114, and the programmatic client 116 alone, together, orin any suitable combination. Although FIG. 1A shows one client device110, multiple client devices may be included in the network architecture100.

The client device 110 may comprise a computing device that includes atleast a display and communication capabilities that provide access tothe networked system 102 via the network 104. The client device 110 maycomprise, but is not limited to, a remote device, work station,computer, general purpose computer, Internet appliance, hand-helddevice, wireless device, portable device, wearable computer, cellular ormobile phone, personal digital assistant (PDA), smart phone, tablet,ultrabook, netbook, laptop, desktop, multi-processor system,microprocessor-based or programmable consumer electronic, game consoles,set-top box, network PC, mini-computer, and the like. In further exampleembodiments, the client device 110 may comprise one or more of a touchscreen, accelerometer, gyroscope, biometric sensor, camera, microphone,global positioning system (GPS) device, and the like.

The client device 110 may communicate with the network 104 via a wiredor wireless connection. For example, one or more portions of the network104 may be an ad hoc network, an intranet, an extranet, a VirtualPrivate Network (VPN), a Local Area Network (LAN), a wireless LAN(WLAN), a Wide Area Network (WAN), a wireless WAN (WWAN), a MetropolitanArea Network (MAN), a portion of the Internet, a portion of the PublicSwitched Telephone Network (PSTN), a cellular telephone network, awireless network, a Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi®) network, a WorldwideInteroperability for Microwave Access (WiMax) network, another type ofnetwork, or a combination of two or more such networks.

The client device 110 may include one or more of the applications (alsoreferred to as “apps”) such as, but not limited to, web browsers, bookreader apps (operable to read e-books), media apps (operable to presentvarious media forms including audio and video), fitness apps, biometricmonitoring apps, messaging apps, electronic mail (email) apps,e-commerce site apps (also referred to as “marketplace apps”), and soon. The client application(s) 114 may include various componentsoperable to present information to the user and communicate withnetworked system 102. In some embodiments, if the e-commerce siteapplication is included in the client device 110, then this applicationmay be configured to locally provide the user interface and at leastsome of the functionalities with the application configured tocommunicate with the networked system 102, on an as needed basis, fordata or processing capabilities not locally available (e.g., access to adatabase of items available for sale, to authenticate a user, to verifya method of payment). Conversely, if the e-commerce site application isnot included in the client device 110, the client device 110 may use itsweb browser to access the e-commerce site (or a variant thereof) hostedon the networked system 102.

In various example embodiments, the users (e.g., the user 106) may be aperson, a machine, or other means of interacting with the client device110. In some example embodiments, the users may not be part of thenetwork architecture 100, but may interact with the network architecture100 via the client device 110 or another means. For instance, the usersmay interact with client device 110 that may be operable to receiveinput information from (e.g., using touch screen input or alphanumericinput) and present information to (e.g., using graphical presentation ona device display) the users. In this instance, the users may, forexample, provide input information to the client device 110 that may becommunicated to the networked system 102 via the network 104. Thenetworked system 102 may, in response to the received input information,communicate information to the client device 110 via the network 104 tobe presented to the users. In this way, the user may interact with thenetworked system 102 using the client device 110.

An Application Program Interface (API) server 120 and a web server 122may be coupled to, and provide programmatic and web interfacesrespectively to, one or more application server(s) 140. The applicationserver(s) 140 may host one or more publication system(s) 142, paymentsystem(s) 144, and a data mesh system 150, each of which may compriseone or more modules or applications and each of which may be embodied ashardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof. Theapplication server(s) 140 are, in turn, shown to be coupled to one ormore database server(s) 124 that facilitate access to one or moreinformation storage repositories or database(s) 126. In an exampleembodiment, the database(s) 126 are storage devices that storeinformation to be posted (e.g., publications or listings) to thepublication system(s) 142. The database(s) 126 may also store digitalgoods information in accordance with some example embodiments.

Additionally, a third party application 132, executing on a third partyserver 130, is shown as having programmatic access to the networkedsystem 102 via the programmatic interface provided by the API server120. For example, the third party application 132, utilizing informationretrieved from the networked system 102, may support one or morefeatures or functions on a website hosted by the third party. The thirdparty website may, for example, provide one or more promotional,marketplace, or payment functions that are supported by the relevantapplications of the networked system 102.

The publication system(s) 142 may provide a number of publicationfunctions and services to the users that access the networked system102. The payment system(s) 144 may likewise provide a number offunctions to perform or facilitate payments and transactions. While thepublication system(s) 142 and payment system(s) 144 are shown in FIG. 1Ato both form part of the networked system 102, it will be appreciatedthat, in alternative embodiments, each system 142 and 144 may form partof a payment service that is separate and distinct from the networkedsystem 102. In some example embodiments, the payment system(s) 144 mayform part of the publication system(s) 142.

The data mesh system 150 may provide functionality to receive, retrieve,or store a broad spectrum of data associated with the users and otherusers. It will be noted that the collective, aggregated attribute datamay be referred to as a “data mesh.” In an example embodiment, the datamesh system 150 may include a visualization system 152 that may generatea visualization representative of data associated with the users andfacilitate the presentation of the visualization to the users. In someexample embodiments, the data mesh system 150 may communicate with theclient device 110, the third party server(s) 130, the publicationsystem(s) 142 (e.g., retrieving listings), and the payment system(s) 144(e.g., purchasing a listing). In an alternative example embodiment, thedata mesh system 150 may be a part of the publication system(s) 142.

Further, while the client-server-based network architecture 100 shown inFIG. 1A employs a client-server architecture, the present inventivesubject matter is, of course, not limited to such an architecture, andmay equally well find application in a distributed, or peer-to-peer,architecture system, for example. The various systems of theapplications server(s) 140 (e.g., the publication system(s) 142 and thepayment system(s) 144) may also be implemented as standalone softwareprograms, which do not necessarily have networking capabilities.

The web client 112 may access the various systems of the networkedsystem 102 (e.g., the publication system(s) 142) via the web interfacesupported by the web server 122. Similarly, the programmatic client 116and client application(s) 114 may access the various services andfunctions provided by the networked system 102 via the programmaticinterface provided by the API server 120. The programmatic client 116may, for example, be a seller application (e.g., the Turbo Listerapplication developed by eBay® Inc., of San Jose, Calif.) to enablesellers to author and manage listings on the networked system 102 in anoff-line manner, and to perform batch-mode communications between theprogrammatic client 116 and the networked system 102.

FIG. 1B illustrates a block diagram showing components provided withinthe publication system(s) 142, according to some embodiments. In variousexample embodiments, the publication system(s) 142 may comprise a marketplace system to provide market place functionality (e.g., facilitatingthe purchase of items associated with item listings on an e-commercewebsite). The networked system 102 may be hosted on dedicated or sharedserver machines that are communicatively coupled to enablecommunications between server machines. The components themselves arecommunicatively coupled (e.g., via appropriate interfaces) to each otherand to various data sources, so as to allow information to be passedbetween the applications or so as to allow the applications to share andaccess common data. Furthermore, the components may access one or moredatabase(s) 126 via the database server(s) 124.

The networked system 102 may provide a number of publishing, listing,and price-setting mechanisms whereby a seller (also referred to as a“first user”) may list (or publish information concerning) goods orservices for sale or barter, a buyer (also referred to as a “seconduser”) can express interest in or indicate a desire to purchase orbarter such goods or services, and a transaction (such as a trade) maybe completed pertaining to the goods or services. To this end, thenetworked system 102 may comprise a publication engine 160 and a sellingengine 162. The publication engine 160 may publish information, such asitem listings or product description pages, on the networked system 102.In some embodiments, the selling engine 162 may comprise one or morefixed-price engines that support fixed-price listing and price settingmechanisms and one or more auction engines that support auction-formatlisting and price setting mechanisms (e.g., English, Dutch, Chinese,Double, Reverse auctions, etc.). The various auction engines may alsoprovide a number of features in support of these auction-formatlistings, such as a reserve price feature whereby a seller may specify areserve price in connection with a listing and a proxy-bidding featurewhereby a bidder may invoke automated proxy bidding. The selling engine162 may further comprise one or more deal engines that supportmerchant-generated offers for products and services.

A listing engine 164 allows sellers to conveniently author listings ofitems or authors to author publications. In one embodiment, the listingspertain to goods or services that a user (e.g., a seller) wishes totransact via the networked system 102. In some embodiments, the listingsmay be an offer, deal, coupon, or discount for the good or service. Eachgood or service is associated with a particular category. The listingengine 164 may receive listing data such as title, description, andaspect name/value pairs. Furthermore, each listing for a good or servicemay be assigned an item identifier. In other embodiments, a user maycreate a listing that is an advertisement or other form of informationpublication. The listing information may then be stored to one or morestorage devices coupled to the networked system 102 (e.g., database(s)126). Listings also may comprise product description pages that displaya product and information (e.g., product title, specifications, andreviews) associated with the product. In some embodiments, the productdescription page may include an aggregation of item listings thatcorrespond to the product described on the product description page.

The listing engine 164 also may allow buyers to conveniently authorlistings or requests for items desired to be purchased. In someembodiments, the listings may pertain to goods or services that a user(e.g., a buyer) wishes to transact via the networked system 102. Eachgood or service is associated with a particular category. The listingengine 164 may receive as much or as little listing data, such as title,description, and aspect name/value pairs, that the buyer is aware ofabout the requested item. In some embodiments, the listing engine 164may parse the buyer's submitted item information and may completeincomplete portions of the listing. For example, if the buyer provides abrief description of a requested item, the listing engine 164 may parsethe description, extract key terms and use those terms to make adetermination of the identity of the item. Using the determined itemidentity, the listing engine 164 may retrieve additional item detailsfor inclusion in the buyer item request. In some embodiments, thelisting engine 164 may assign an item identifier to each listing for agood or service.

In some embodiments, the listing engine 164 allows sellers to generateoffers for discounts on products or services. The listing engine 164 mayreceive listing data, such as the product or service being offered, aprice or discount for the product or service, a time period for whichthe offer is valid, and so forth. In some embodiments, the listingengine 164 permits sellers to generate offers from a sellers' mobiledevices. The generated offers may be uploaded to the networked system102 for storage and tracking.

Searching the networked system 102 is facilitated by a searching engine166. For example, the searching engine 166 enables keyword queries oflistings published via the networked system 102. In example embodiments,the searching engine 166 receives the keyword queries from a device of auser and conducts a review of the storage device storing the listinginformation. The review will enable compilation of a result set oflistings that may be sorted and returned to the client device 110 of theuser. The searching engine 166 may record the query (e.g., keywords) andany subsequent user actions and behaviors (e.g., navigations,selections, or click-throughs).

The searching engine 166 also may perform a search based on a locationof the user. A user may access the searching engine 166 via a mobiledevice and generate a search query. Using the search query and theuser's location, the searching engine 166 may return relevant searchresults for products, services, offers, auctions, and so forth to theuser. The searching engine 166 may identify relevant search results bothin a list form and graphically on a map. Selection of a graphicalindicator on the map may provide additional details regarding theselected search result. In some embodiments, the user may specify, aspart of the search query, a radius or distance from the user's currentlocation to limit search results.

In a further example, a navigation engine 168 allows users to navigatethrough various categories, catalogs, or inventory data structuresaccording to which listings may be classified within the networkedsystem 102. For example, the navigation engine 168 allows a user tosuccessively navigate down a category tree comprising a hierarchy ofcategories (e.g., the category tree structure) until a particular set oflistings is reached. Various other navigation applications within thenavigation engine 168 may be provided to supplement the searching andbrowsing applications. The navigation engine 168 may record the varioususer actions (e.g., clicks) performed by the user in order to navigatedown the category tree.

In some example embodiments, a personalization engine 170 may allow theusers of the networked system 102 to personalize various aspects oftheir interactions with the networked system 102. For instance, theusers may define, provide, or otherwise communicate personalizationsettings that the personalization engine 170 may use to determineinteractions with the networked system 102. In further exampleembodiments, the personalization engine 170 may automatically determinepersonalization settings and personalize interactions based on theautomatically determined settings. For example, the personalizationengine 170 may determine a native language of the user and automaticallypresent information in the native language.

FIG. 2A is a block diagram of the data mesh system 150, which mayprovide functionality to receive, retrieve, or access attribute datafrom attribute sources, analyze the attribute data, manage the attributedata, and so forth. In an example embodiment, the data mesh system 150may include a presentation module 210, a communication module 215, anattribute module 220, a characteristic module 225, a management module230, and the visualization system 152. FIG. 2B is a block diagram of thevisualization system 152, which may provide functionality to analyze theattribute data and generate a visualization based on the attribute data.The visualization system 152 may include an analysis module 250, acommerce module 255, and a visualization module 260. All, or some, ofthe modules 210-260 of FIGS. 2A and 2B may communicate with each other,for example, via a network coupling, shared memory, and the like. Itwill be appreciated that each module of modules 210-260 may beimplemented as a single module, combined into other modules, or furthersubdivided into multiple modules. It will further be appreciated thatthe modules or functionality of the visualization system 152 may beimplemented in the data mesh system 150 and the modules or functionalityof the data mesh system 150 may be implemented in the visualizationsystem 152. Other modules not pertinent to example embodiments may alsobe included, but are not shown.

Referring to FIG. 2A, the presentation module 210 may provide variouspresentation and user interface functionality operable to interactivelypresent and receive information from users. For example, thepresentation module 210 may cause presentation of the visualizationbased on the attribute data to the user. The presentation module 210 maypresent or cause presentation of information using a variety of meansincluding visually displaying information and using other device outputs(e.g., acoustic, haptic). Interactively presenting is intended toinclude the exchange of information between a device and a user. Theuser may provide input to interact with the user interface in a varietyof ways including alphanumeric input, cursor input, tactile input, orother input (e.g., one or more touch screen, camera, tactile sensors,light sensors, infrared sensors, biometric sensors, microphone,gyroscope, accelerometer, or other sensors). It will be appreciated thatthe presentation module 210 may provide many other user interfaces tofacilitate functionality described herein. Further, it will beappreciated that “presenting” as used herein is intended to includecommunicating information to another device with functionality operableto perform presentation using the communicated information.

The communication module 215 may provide various communicationsfunctionality and web services. For example, network communication suchas communicating with the networked system 102, the client device 110,and the third party server(s) 130 may be provided. In various exampleembodiments, the network communication may operate over wired orwireless modalities. Web services are intended to include retrievinginformation from the third party server(s) 130, the database(s) 126, andthe application server(s) 140. Information retrieved by thecommunication module 215 may comprise data associated with the user(e.g., user profile information from an online account, social networkservice data associated with the user), data associated with one or moreitems listed on an e-commerce website (e.g., images of the item, reviewsof the item, item price), or other data to facilitate the functionalitydescribed herein.

The attribute module 220 may receive, access, or retrieve a wide varietyof attribute data from many different attribute sources. For example,the attribute module 220 may receive, retrieve, or access the attributedata from user devices or machines (e.g., the client device(s) 110),social network services, the third party server(s) 130, the publicationsystem(s) 142, the payment system(s) 144, other applications servers, orother attribute sources. The attribute data, as used herein, is intendedto include raw data such as sensor data, profile data, social networkcontent, and so on.

In some example embodiments, the attribute module 220 may extract theattribute data from various sources. For instance, a payment history logof the user may include a tremendous amount of extraneous data. Theattribute module 220 may extract purchase information such as itempurchased, time, purchase price, seller, location, brand, and so forthfrom the payment history log of the user.

In further example embodiments, the attribute module 220 may performvarious functions to prepare or condition the attribute data foranalysis. For instance, the attribute module 220 may standardize theattribute data to facilitate analysis of the attribute data (e.g.,determine a normal form for the data to allow for comparison and othermathematical analysis). The attribute module 220 may perform many otherfunctions to prepare the attribute data for analysis.

In various example embodiments, the attribute module 220 may store theattribute data in association with the user for subsequent analysis. Forexample, the attribute module 220 may store the attribute data in thedatabase(s) 126. The attribute data may be stored in conjunction with auser identifier such that the attribute module 220 may subsequently usethe user identifier to access the attribute data corresponding to aparticular user. The attribute module 220 may access the storedattribute data using other schemes. For instance, the attribute module220 may access a portion of the attribute data associated with a time,an item, a user, a type of user, a particular attribute source, and soforth. In this way, the attribute module 220 may access a portion ofattribute data according to various parameters from among a largequantity of the attribute data to access, identify, or find pertinent orrelevant data.

The characteristic module 225 may infer a user characteristic ormultiple user characteristics corresponding to the user based on ananalysis of at least a portion of the attribute data. Many schemes andtechniques may be employed to infer the characteristic from theattribute data. For example, a particular user characteristic may be awork location of the user. The attribute data may include a plurality oflocations (e.g., as determined by a GPS component of a user device usedby the user) that include time stamps. The work location of the user maybe inferred based on the consistency and timing of the locationsincluded in the attribute data (e.g., during normal working hours, theuser is typically at a particular office building). Many differentportions of attribute data and combinations of portions of attributedata may be analyzed to infer a wide variety of characteristics.

In various example embodiments, characteristics (e.g., the usercharacteristics), as used herein, are intended to include traits,qualities, actions, activities, attitudes, habits, behaviors, and thelike pertaining to a person or people. Inasmuch as the attribute datamay not necessarily pertain to a person (e.g., raw data such ascoordinates of a particular location), a characteristic (e.g., currentlocation of the user, disliking spicy food, having young children, beinga Star Trek fanatic) may be distinct from the attribute data.

The management module 230 may provide management functions associatedwith the attribute data. For example, the management module 230 mayprovide the user with functionality to edit, modify, update, orotherwise control the attribute data. For instance, the user may removeundesired attribute data via the functionality provided by themanagement module 230. In a further instance, the user may specifypermissions for portions of the attribute data using the functionalityprovided by the management module 230. The permissions may allow orprohibit certain access or uses for the attribute data (e.g., thepermission may prohibit access to the attribute data by third parties).The user may grant various levels of access and abilities. In someexample embodiments, the permissions may persist for a period of time,and after expiration of the time period, the management module 230 mayrevoke the permissions.

In further example embodiments, the management module 230 may requestconsent from the user to access portions of the attribute data or torequest permission for certain uses of the attribute data. For example,the management module 230 may request consent from the user to allowthird parties to access portions of the attribute data. The managementmodule 230 may request a variety of other consents associated withvarious actions corresponding to the attribute data.

In still further example embodiments, the management module 230 mayprovide functionality to allow third parties to access the attributedata or the user characteristics. For example, the management module 230may provide a set of APIs that may be invoked by third parties to accessthe attribute data or the user characteristics. As discussed above, insome example embodiments, the management module 230 may determinepermission or consent of the user prior to providing access to theattribute data.

Referring now to FIG. 2B, the analysis module 250 in the visualizationsystem 152 may perform various analyses to facilitate the functionalitydescribed herein. For example, the analysis module 250 may determinesatisfaction of a reward criteria associated with the attribute data. Inthis example, the reward criteria may include a fitness goal and theanalysis module 250 may determine whether the user has satisfied thefitness goal based on an analysis of the attribute data. Many otherrewards and analyses may be performed by the analysis module 250.

The commerce module 255 may identify items from an e-commerce platform(e.g., the publication system 142). The items (e.g., item listings on ane-commerce website) are intended to include products, services,activities, and the like. The commerce module 255 may also retrieve itemdata associated with the identified items such as item price, seller,item location, seller location, item images, item description, and soon. In some example embodiments, the commerce module 255 may facilitatethe purchase, by the user, of the identified items.

The visualization module 260 may generate a visualization based, atleast in part, on the attribute data. The visualization may berepresentative of the attribute data. For example, the visualizationmodule 260 may generate an avatar that is representative of theattribute data. For example, the attribute data may indicate demographicdata corresponding to the user such as gender, age, height, and so on.The visualization module 260 may generate the avatar based on thedemographic data such as an avatar of the same gender and similar age,height, and so forth. The presentation module 210 may subsequently causepresentation of the generated visualization to the user.

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram illustrating an example method 300 forgenerating the visualization, according to some example embodiments. Theoperations of the method 300 may be performed by components of the datamesh system 150 and the visualization system 152. At operation 310, theattribute module 220 may receive the attribute data associated with theuser from a plurality of attribute sources. As will be discussed inconnection with FIGS. 12 and 13, the attribute data may be received froma broad spectrum of attribute sources (e.g., devices, sensors, servers,databases, and other sources). Additionally, the attribute module 220may receive the attribute data via many pathways resulting from anassortment of configurations of the attribute sources as furtherdiscussed in connection with FIGS. 11A and 11B. In an exampleembodiment, the attribute module 220 may receive the attribute datadirectly from the attribute sources. In other example embodiments, theattribute module 220 may receive the attribute data from a centraldevice that receives attribute data from a plurality of user devices. Instill other example embodiments, various user devices may becommunicatively coupled in a decentralized device-to-device mesh and theattribute module 220 may receive the attribute data corresponding to aparticular device in the mesh from any of the devices in the mesh. Theattribute module 220 may receive the attribute data from the attributesources in many other configurations including various suitablecombinations of configurations.

In various example embodiments, the attribute module 220 may store theattribute data in association with the user (e.g., indexed based on auser identifier) for subsequent analysis. The attribute module 220 maystore the attribute data in a storage device such as the database(s)126, for example. The attribute module 220 may access the storedattribute data using a variety of search or find schemes. For instance,the attribute data associated with a particular user may be accessedusing a user identifier that corresponds to the particular user. It willbe noted that the collective, aggregated attribute data may be referredto as a “data mesh.”

In various example embodiments, at least a portion of the attribute datamay include real-time data or near real-time data. The term “real-timedata,” as used herein, is intended to include data associated with anevent currently happening. For example, the real-time data may includeuser input data or sensor data communicated to the attribute module 220after a delay interval (e.g., due to transmission delay or other delayssuch as being temporarily stored at an intermediate device) betweencapturing the data and the attribute module 220 receiving the data.

At operation 320, the characteristic module 225 may infer or measuredirectly a user characteristic or multiple user characteristics based onan analysis of at least a portion of the attribute data. In some exampleembodiments, the characteristic module 225 may store the inferred usercharacteristics for subsequent analysis, for example, in a storagedevice such as database(s) 126. The characteristic module 225 may infera vast spectrum of the user characteristics from the attribute data. Afew specific examples of user characteristics may include demographicdata (e.g., age, gender, marital status, number of children), userpreferences (e.g., being a morning person, favorite locations, enjoyingspicy food), idiosyncrasy (e.g., being forgetful such as draining thebattery on a mobile device or being impatient such as a line breakerthat will leave a store if the line is too long), qualities (e.g., beingathletic, being tall, having a large vocabulary), personality traits(e.g., being a risk taker), actions, activities (e.g., working for anon-profit), attitudes, habits (e.g., being a coffee drinker),behaviors, beliefs, biases, demeanor, and physical characteristics ofthe user (e.g., height, weight, garment sizes, eye color, hair color).The specificity of the characteristics may range from very narrow (e.g.,drinks a particular brand of soda) to very broad (e.g., being generallyphilanthropic). To illustrate inferring the user characteristic from theattribute data by way of example, the attribute data may include userlocation data that may indicate frequent visits to a local school, localsoccer fields, and the like. In this example, the characteristic module225 may infer that the user has children based on the types of locationsthe user may be frequently visiting.

In some instances, the characteristic module 225 may perform varyingdegrees of inferential analysis of the attribute data to derive the usercharacteristics. For example, the characteristic module 225 may inferthe user's wake-up time based on user device activity or other activity(e.g., connected alarm clock settings, logins to accounts, and variousother user activities that may indicate a wake-up time). In thisexample, the characteristic module 225 may infer a particular usercharacteristic that may be of a larger inferential jump such as the userbeing a morning person or a person that likes to sleep in. The degree ofinferential jump may be configurable. In some example embodiments, thecharacteristic module 225 may employ various techniques to minimize orotherwise control incorrect inferences (e.g., machine learning, otherlearning algorithms).

In further example embodiments, the characteristic module 225 may learnor evolve as more of the attribute data is received (e.g., via machinelearning techniques or other learning algorithms). For example, theattribute data may include location data of the user. The characteristicmodule 225 may infer a favorite location of the user based on a pattern(e.g., frequently visited locations) in the location data. However, thecharacteristic module 225 may subsequently receive employment data ofthe user that may indicate a current employer including an employerlocation. The characteristic module 225 may learn, update, or otherwiseadapt to account for the new attribute data. Thus, in this example, thecharacteristic module 225 may not infer a favorite location of the userif the location is a work location of the user. In some instance, theuser may provide input directly (e.g., via a user interface configuredto receive inferential guidance from the user) to facilitate thecharacteristic module 225 in inferring characteristics from theattribute data (e.g., user input indicating that a particular inferredcharacteristic is incorrect or providing input to be used as a basis forfuture inferences).

In other instances, the characteristic module 225 may perform verylittle or no analysis to derive the user characteristic from theattribute data. For example, the attribute data may include an alarmtime setting from a connected alarm clock (e.g., a smart phone with analarm clock app). The alarm time setting may directly indicate a wake-uptime. Since the attribute data directly relates to a particular usercharacteristic, the characteristic module 225 need not perform analysisto derive the user characteristic.

In some example embodiments, the user characteristic may comprisepredefined characteristics or dynamically determined characteristics.For instance, a particular set of characteristics may be predefined(e.g., work location, home location, marital status, socio-economiclevel). The characteristic module 225 may determine that particularpredefined characteristics are associated with the user based on ananalysis of the attribute data. In other instances, the characteristicmodule 225 may dynamically determine characteristics based on theattribute data. For example, the attribute data may indicate that theuser owns a particular exotic pet. Although there may not be apredefined characteristic associated with the particular exotic pet, thecharacteristic module 225 may determine the user characteristic ofowning an exotic pet from the attribute data.

In a specific example, the characteristic module 225 may infer theuser's physical dimensions based on the attribute data that may includepurchase history. For instance, the characteristic module 225 may usedemographic information such as age, gender, or location to filterclothing purchases included in the purchase history (e.g., filtering toidentify clothing purchase intended for the user). Based on the filteredclothing purchase history, the characteristic module 225 may identifythe user's physical dimensions based on the garment sizes of theclothing purchases. In another specific example, the characteristicmodule 225 may infer the user's fitness level based on fitness trackingsoftware included in a mobile device of the user. Thus, in thesespecific examples, the characteristic module 225 may infer variousphysical characteristics or traits of the user based on the attributedata.

At operation 330, the visualization module 260 may generate avisualization based, at least in part, on the user characteristic. Insome cases, the term “visualization” as used herein is intended toinclude visual and non-visual components of a presentation (e.g., ananimation including audio cued to the animation). The term“visualization” is also intended to include static images, animations,and other forms of visual presentation.

In an example embodiment, the visualization may comprise a chart orgraph that may indicate a metric associated with the attribute data. Forinstance, the metric associated with the attribute data may be acompleteness metric that indicates completeness of the attribute dataassociated with the user. That is to say, the completeness metric mayindicate a quantity of attribute data versus a goal quantity ofattribute data or attainable quantity of attribute data (e.g., thecompleteness metric may indicate a quantity of the attribute dataassociated with the user is sixty percent of the way to an goal quantityof attribute data).

In another example embodiment, the visualization may comprise an avatarthat is representative of the user. For example, the avatar may be aperson like animation or image that may be intended to represent theuser. The avatar does not necessarily need to resemble the user'sphysical qualities or personality traits. However, in some exampleembodiments, the avatar may be intended to include qualities or traitsthat are similar or the same as qualities or traits of the user. Inother words, the avatar may be visually analogous to the user. Thevisualization module 260 may determine an avatar trait based, at leastin part, on the inferred user characteristic and include the avatartrait when generating the avatar. In some example embodiments, the usercharacteristic may comprise a physical characteristic of the user andthe avatar trait may comprise a representation of the physicalcharacteristic. For example, the characteristic module 225 may infervarious user characteristics such as physical dimensions of the user,demographic information, personality traits and the like. In thisexample, the physical dimensions may indicate a person who may be sixfeet tall, the demographic information may indicate a gender of femaleand an age of twenty two, and the personality traits may indicate anoutlandish tendency. As such, the avatar in this example may resemble asix foot tall woman and may include apparel that is congruent withhaving an outlandish tendency. Thus, the avatar may visually exemplifyvarious characteristics of the user.

In various example embodiments, the visualization module 260 may employa variety of schemes and techniques to determine an avatar trait based,at least in part, on the inferred user characteristic. In an exampleembodiment, the analysis module 250 may identify similar users that aresimilar to the user based on a variety of factors. In some exampleembodiments, the analysis module 250 may access the attribute data orstored user characteristics corresponding to a plurality of other users.For example, the analysis module 250 may identity the similar users fromamong the plurality of other users that are similar to the user based onthe inferred users characteristics of the user and respective usercharacteristics of the plurality of other users. The analysis module 250may correlation, match, or otherwise compare the inferred usercharacteristics with respective user characteristics of the plurality ofother users to identity the similar users. In various exampleembodiments, the analysis module 250 may identify the similar usersbased on same or similar demographic data (e.g., same or similar age,gender, location, etc.), same or similar user characteristics (e.g.,same or similar brand purchases), same or similar attribute data, and soon. For instance, the analysis module 250 may correlated the inferreduser characteristics with respective user characteristics of other userto identify the similar users.

Subsequent to the analysis module 250 identify the similar users, thevisualization module may extract common characteristics from among theidentified similar users. The visualization module 260 may generate thevisualization based on the extracted common characteristics. In theexample above, the analysis module 250 may identify particular similarusers that are associated with being outlandish. Continuing with thisexample, the visualization module 260 may extract the commoncharacteristics (e.g., a particular style of clothing or brand) fromamong the identified plurality of users. For instance, the commoncharacteristic may be wearing a particular clothing color, style, brand,and so on. The visualization module 260 may generate or render theavatar to include a particular avatar trait that corresponds to thecommon characteristic (e.g., wearing a particular clothing brand).

In further example embodiments, the visualization module 260 may applyweighting the inferred user characteristics and the extracted commoncharacteristics in various schemes to generate the visualization basedon the inferred user characteristics or the extracted commoncharacteristics. For example, a particular user characteristic that maybe inferred from particular attribute data that correspond to a timefurther in the past may be weighted less heavily than a particular usercharacteristics interred from particular attribute data that is morerecent. The reasoning being that more recent data may be more relevantor pertinent to the objective of generating the visualization in amanner that accurately reflects the user or the attribute data. Thevisualization module 260 may apply weighting using many other schemesand the above is merely a non-limiting example.

In still further example embodiments, the visualization module 260 maygenerate the visualization based, at least in part, on the real-timedata included in the attribute data. For example, the characteristicmodule 225 may infer the user characteristics based, at least in part,on the real-time data and the visualization module 260 may generate thevisualization based on the user characteristics inferred from thereal-time data. Thus, the visualization may be reflective of a currentstatus of the user. In a specific example, the characteristic module 225may infer that the user may currently be jogging vigorously at a park.The visualization module 260 may, for example, generate thevisualization, such as the avatar, to include a feature of perspirationindicative of the user currently performing a vigorous physicalactivity. Thus, the visualization may be representative of a real-timestatus of the user. In a further example, the characteristic module 225may infer an outfit the user is currently wearing (e.g., inferred fromattribute data that may include detections from smart tags embedded intothe user's clothing) and the visualization module 260 may generated theavatar to include a representation of the inferred outfit.

At operation 340, the presentation module 210 may cause presentation ofthe visualization to the user. For example, the visualization maycomprise an avatar and the presentation may be displaying the avatar ona screen. The presentation module 210 causing presentation of thevisualization may include communicating the visualization, orinstructions to present the visualization, to a device of the useroperable to present the visualization to the user. In further exampleembodiments, the presentation module 210 may cause the presentation ofthe visualization to other users. For instance, the user may beassociated with a profile and viewers of the user's profile may alsoview the visualization. In other example embodiments, the user may beassociated with contact users that have a connection with the user suchas a social media based relationship. In this example embodiment, thevisualization may be presented to the contact users.

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram illustrating further example operations 400 ofthe example method 300 of FIG. 3 according to some example embodiments.Subsequent to the operation 340, at operation 410, the presentationmodule 210 may receive user input indicating a change to thevisualization. For example, the user input may indicate that thevisualization is based on user characteristics or attribute data that isnot reflective of the user. In this example, the visualization may be anavatar and the physical characteristics of the avatar may not bereflective of the user (e.g., the avatar is too short as compared to theuser).

At the operation 420, the visualization module 260 may update thevisualization according to the change indicated by the user input. Inthe example above, if the user input indicated that the avatar was tooshort, the visualization module 260 may generate or render the avatarwith a taller height.

In further example embodiments, the attribute module 220 may update ormodify the attribute data according to the user input. For instance, ifthe user input indicates demographic data (e.g., age) other than thatcurrently associated with the user, the attribute module 220 may updatethe demographic information according to the user input.

In still further example embodiments, the characteristic module 225 mayinfer the user characteristics based on an analysis of the attributedata and the user input. For instance, if the user input indicates aparticular clothing style, color, brand, and so forth, thecharacteristic module 225 may use that user input as a basis forinferring the user characteristics in conjunction with the attributedata.

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram illustrating an example method 500 fordetermining satisfaction of a reward criteria and providing a reward tothe user according to some example embodiments. The operations of themethod 500 may be performed by components of the data mesh system 150and the visualization system 152. At operation 510, the analysis module250 may determine satisfaction of the reward criteria associated withthe attribute data. The reward criteria may include a variety ofcriterion.

In an example embodiment, the reward criteria may include a criterionbased on the completeness metric. In an example embodiment, the analysismodule 250 may determine the completeness metric based on an analysis ofthe attribute data. The completeness metric may indicate a quantity ofattribute data available to the data mesh system 150. In some exampleembodiments, the completeness metric may indicate the quantity ofattribute data in comparison to a goal quantity of attribute data orattainable quantity of attribute data (e.g., the completeness metric mayindicate a quantity of the attribute data associated with the user issixty percent of the way to a goal quantity of attribute data). Forinstance, the user may have provided the attribute data, permission toaccess portions of the attribute data, or consent to access portions ofthe attribute data via the management module 230 (e.g., the user mayhave provided permission to the attribute management module 230 to allowthe attribute module 220 to access mobile sensor data but not socialnetworking data). In this instance, the completeness metric may indicatethat portions of the attribute data may not be available to theattribute module 220. The analysis module 250 may determine satisfactionof the criterion based on the completeness metric if the completenessmetric exceeds a threshold. The threshold may be predefined ordynamically determined by the analysis module 250 based on variousstatistical analyses.

In a further example embodiment, the completeness metric may beassociated with a specified type of attribute data. In this furtherexample embodiment, the analysis module 250 may determine the criterionbased on the completeness metric may be satisfied if the user providesthe specified type of attribute data or permission to access thespecified type of attribute data.

In another example embodiment, the reward criteria may include acriterion based on a quality metric. In this example embodiment, theanalysis module 250 may determine the quality metric based on ananalysis of the attribute data. The quality metric may indicate arelevance or pertinence of the attribute data. For instance, olderattribute data may be less relevant than newer attribute data. In anexample embodiment, the quality metric may be higher for new attributedata and lower for older attribute data. Thus, a particular userassociated with attribute data that is constantly updated may beassociated with a higher quality metric. The analysis module 250 maydetermine satisfaction of the reward criteria that includes thecriterion based on the quality metric based on the quality metricexceeding a threshold. That is to say, the analysis module 250 maydetermine satisfaction of the reward criteria that includes a particularcriterion based on the quality metric by providing recent data, forexample. The threshold may be predefined or dynamically determined bythe analysis module 250 based on various statistical analyses.

In yet another example embodiment, the reward criteria may include acriterion associated with completing a task. For instance, the task mayinclude the user recommending or communicating (e.g., email, textmessage) to other users regarding a product or application. Thepresentation module 210 may facilitate the user in performing the task(e.g., automatically determining available contact that may be contactedand providing a predetermined message that may be sent via a userinterface provided by the presentation module 210). In other instances,the task may include a specified goal. In this instance, the goal may,for example, be a fitness goal such as a number of steps taken in a day(e.g., as determined a pedometer app executing on a mobile device of theuser). Continuing with this instance, the analysis module 250 maydetermine satisfaction of the reward criteria including a criterionbased on a number of steps taken if the user exceeds a threshold numberof steps.

In further example embodiments, the analysis module 250 may determinesatisfaction of the reward criteria including various criteria (e.g.,criterion based on the completeness metric or the quality metric) bycomparing metrics associated with the user to other users. As describedabove, the analysis module 250 may identify the similar users that aresimilar to the user based on a variety of factors. The analysis module250 may determine satisfaction of the reward criteria by comparing thevarious metrics associated with the user to the various metricsassociated with the similar users. In a specific example, the similarusers may include users that may have the same or similar demographicdata (e.g., age, gender, location). Among these similar users, theanalysis module 250 may determine an average completeness metric oranother statistic-based value. The analysis module 250 may compare thecompleteness metric of the user to the average completeness metric oranother statistic based value to determine satisfaction of a particularcriterion associated with the completeness metric of the user (e.g., theuser may satisfy the reward criteria by being above average as comparedto similar users). Similarly, the analysis module 250 may compare afitness goal of a user to the similar users that may be of a similarfitness level to the user. The analysis module 250 may employ many othercomparisons of the similar users or other users to determinesatisfaction of the reward criteria. Thus, in some example embodiments,the analysis module 250 may determine satisfaction of the rewardcriteria based on the attribute data associated with the identifiedsimilar users.

At the operation 520, the analysis module 250 may provide a reward tothe user based on the determined satisfaction of the reward criteria.The reward may include additional visualization features or functions.For instance, the reward may include providing the user the ability tofurther customize the visualization (e.g., modify apparel of theavatar). In another instance, the reward may provide the user withadditional features such as the ability to share the visualization withother users. The reward may include many other features and functionsrelated to the visualization.

In further example embodiments, the reward may include a coupon, deal,or other incentive. The reward may incentivize the user to provideconsent, permission, or access to additional attribute data, providehigher quality more relevant attribute data, complete various marketingtasks, complete various goals (e.g., a fitness goal), and so forth.

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram illustrating additional operations of themethod 300 according to some example embodiments. Subsequent to theoperation 320, at the operation 330 the visualization module 260 maygenerate the visualization based at least in part on the usercharacteristics. In addition, at operation 610, the commerce module 255may identify an item listing based on the user characteristics. Forinstance, the user characteristics may indicate the user's preferencesfor clothing, electronics, and so on. Further, the attribute data mayinclude purchase history data that the commerce module 255 may use todetermine products already owned by the user. By analyzing thisinformation, the commerce module 255 may identify an item listing ofinterest to the user (e.g., an item listing on an e-commerce website).The commerce module 255 may employ a variety of schemes and techniquesusing the user characteristics and the attribute data to identify theitem listing.

At the operation 620, the visualization module 260 may generate thevisualization including the identified item associated with theidentified item listing. For example, the visualization generated by thevisualization module 260 may include the avatar that may berepresentative of the user. In this example, the visualization module260 may generate the avatar to include the avatar wearing or using asuitable item associated with the identified item listing. The commercemodule 255 may access item data associated with the identified itemassociated with the identified item listing. For example, the commercemodule 255 may access the item data that may include images of the item,physical dimensions of the item (e.g., garment sizes), and so forth.Based on the item data, the visualization module 260 may generate thevisualization to include a representation of the identified item. Therepresentation may be similar to the item in that it may include similarcharacteristics to the identified item. For example, the identified itemmay be a particular piece of apparel. In this example, the visualizationmodule 260 may render a representation of the piece of apparel that isof the same or similar dimensions, color, pattern, and so forth.

In further example embodiments, the item associated with the identifieditem listing may be highlighted or otherwise emphasized in the renderingof the avatar. In some example embodiments, the user may interact withthe generated item rendering associated with the identified item listingincluded in the avatar (e.g., interacting with the item may causerecommendation for sale of the item listing).

FIG. 7 is a flow diagram illustrating an example method 700 forgenerating the visualization based on the attribute data according tosome example embodiments. The operations of the method 700 may beperformed by components of the data mesh system 150 and thevisualization system 152. In an example, embodiment, at operation 710,attribute source 702 may communicate the attribute data to the attributesource 704. At the operation 715, the attribute source 704 may receivethe attribute data from the attribute source 702. At operation 720, theattribute source 704 may communicate the attribute data to the data meshsystem 150. As discussed above in connection with FIG. 3, at theoperation 310, the data mesh system 150 may receive the attribute datafrom the attribute source 704. In this example embodiment, the attributedata may be exchanged between the attribute source 702 and the attributesource 704. In this way, the data mesh system 150 may access variousattribute data corresponding to a particular attribute source withoutdirectly communicating with the particular attribute source.

As discussed above in connection with FIG. 3, at the operation 320, thecharacteristic module 225 may infer a user characteristic. At theoperation 330, the visualization module 260 may generate thevisualization based, at least in part, on the user characteristic. Atthe operation 340, the presentation module 210 may cause presentation ofthe visualization to the user. The presentation module 210 may causepresentation of the visualization by communicating the visualization tothe user device 706. At operation 725, the user device 706 may presentthe visualization to the user. For example, the user device 706 may be amobile device of the user and the presentation may be displaying thevisualization on a screen of the mobile device. Subsequent to presentingthe visualization to the user, at operation 730, the user device 706 mayreceive user input from the user. In some example embodiments, the userinput may result from an interaction with the presented visualization.At the operation 735, the user device 706 may communicate the user inputto the data mesh system 150. For example, the user input may be receivedby the presentation module 210 of the data mesh system 150.

As discussed above in connection with FIG. 4, at the operation 410, thepresentation module 210 may receive the user input indicating a changeto the visualization. At the operation 420, the visualization module 260may update the visualization according to the change indicated by theuser input. Thus, FIG. 7 has shown various communications orinteractions between devices according to some example embodiments.

FIGS. 8, 9, 10A, and 10B depict example user interface for presentingthe visualization to the user. Although FIGS. 8, 9, 10A, and 10B depictspecific example visualization and user interface elements, these aremerely non-limiting examples and many other alternate visualization anduser interface elements may be generated by the presentation module 210and presented to the user. It will be noted that alternate presentationsof the displays of FIGS. 8, 9, 10A, and 10B may include additionalinformation, graphics, options, and so forth; other presentations mayinclude less information, or may provide abridged information for easyuse by the user.

FIG. 8 depicts an example device 800 displaying an example userinterface 810 to present the visualization to the user. In an exampleembodiment, the visualization may be an avatar 820 that is based on theinferred user characteristics. In a specific example, the approximatephysical size of the user may be derived from purchase history data suchas clothing sizes, user input (e.g., user input to a fitness app thatrequests the user's size to make various calculations), and so on. Theuser characteristics may include style characteristics extracted,derived, or inferred from the attribute data (e.g., type of clothingpurchased, types of activities the user engages in, and so on). In otherexample embodiments, the avatar 820 may be used as a virtual fitmentgauge to determine how particular apparel may appear on the person.Although the visualization of FIG. 8 depicts the avatar 820, many othervarieties of visualization may be rendered by the visualization module260 and presented to the user by the presentation module 210.

In some example embodiments, the user may have provided interests andother information to the data mesh system 150, as depicted by userinterface element 830. In some example embodiments, the user may modifyaccess permission to the user information, for example, by activatinguser interface element 840. The user may also edit or modify theattribute data, for example, by activating user interface element 850.In further example embodiments, the user may be provided withrecommendations that are based on an analysis of the attribute data orthe user characteristics. For example, activating user interface element860 may display various personalized recommendations.

FIG. 9 depicts an example device 900 displaying an example userinterface 910 that may present the visualization to the user. Theexample user interface 910 may include recommended items or allow theuser to provide the user input to alter the visualization. For example,user interface element 930 may include a plurality of recommended itemssuch as user interface element 940. The user may activate (e.g.,dragging a user interface element onto the area occupied by the avatar940) a particular recommended item to indicate an interest in theparticular recommended item. The visualization may be updated orotherwise modified responsive to the user activating the particularrecommended item. For example, the recommended item may be visuallyincorporated into the visualization such as the avatar 920 may be shownto wear the recommended item when suitable. In further exampleembodiments, the user may provide indications interests and otherinformation. For instance, user interface element 950 may include aplurality of user interests such as interest 960. In an exampleembodiment, the user may select an interest from a plurality ofinterests. Based on the selected interest, the visualization module 260may modify the visualization. In still further example embodiments, thecharacteristic module 225 may incorporate the selected interest into theanalysis to determine the user characteristics.

FIG. 10A depicts an example device displaying an example user interface1010 to present the visualization to the user. Similarly, FIG. 10Bdepicts an example device displaying an example user interface 1050 topresent the visualization to the user. In an example embodiment, as moreattribute data is provided to the data mesh system 150, the moredetailed and accurate the visualization module 260 may render thevisualization representative of the attribute data. For example, theuser may be a college aged male with an athletic build. In this example,avatar 1020 of FIG. 10A may be a less detailed and less accuraterepresentation of the user than avatar 1060 of FIG. 10B. The avatar 1020may be an initial representation of the attribute data and the avatar1060 may be a subsequent representation of the attribute data after thedata mesh system 150 receives more attribute data from the user allowingthe visualization system 152 to more accurately represent the user.

FIGS. 11A and 11B depict example configurations for communicativelycoupling attribute sources, according to some example embodiments. Theexample embodiments described herein may access a vast and rich“Internet of Things” (IoT) dataset that is predominantly provided viacommunicatively connected, interconnected, or otherwise communicativelycoupled machines and devices that may include a multitude of sensors. Inexample embodiments, devices and machines that provide the attributedata, such as the attribute sources, may be communicatively coupled inmany different configurations. For instance, each attribute source maybe communicatively coupled to the networked system 102 independently toprovide the networked system 102 access to the attribute datacorresponding to each of the communicatively coupled attribute sources.FIGS. 11A and 11B depict alternative example attribute sourceconfigurations. It will be appreciated that FIGS. 11A and 11B are merelynon-limiting examples of attribute source configurations and many otherconfigurations or suitable combinations of configurations may beemployed.

FIG. 11A depicts an example embodiment that may include attributesources 1110 communicatively coupled in a decentralized device-to-devicemesh. In this example embodiment, the attribute data corresponding to aparticular device in the mesh may be received from any one or more ofthe devices in the mesh. For instance, the networked system 102 mayaccess the attribute data corresponding to attribute source E viaattribute source H or a combination of attribute sources H and I in FIG.11A. In an example embodiment, the attribute source H or I may aggregateand store the attribute data corresponding to attribute sources A-F inFIG. 11A. In some example embodiments, the networked system 102 mayaccess the attribute data associated with attribute source E bycommunicating with attribute source H or I in FIG. 11A.

FIG. 11B depicts another example embodiment that may include attributesources 1120 communicatively coupled to a central attribute source(e.g., attribute source H in FIG. 11B). The networked system 102 mayaccess the attribute data associated with attribute sources A-G via thecentral attribute source in FIG. 11B. In some embodiments, the centralattribute source may aggregate and store the attribute data received oraccessed from the attribute sources A-G and provide a centralized accesspoint for the attribute data associated with all, or some, of thecommunicatively coupled attribute sources A-G in FIG. 11B.

FIG. 12 depicts example sources 1200 including attribute sources 1210,according to some example embodiments. In various example embodiments,the attribute data may include data received, retrieved, or accessedfrom the attribute sources 1210. For example, the attribute sources 1210may provide data including everything from a moisture level of ahouseplant to a dribbling rhythm of a basketball. In some embodiments,the attribute data corresponding to the attribute sources 1210 may bereceived or accessed in real-time or near real-time. For instance, theattribute sources 1210 may communicate or otherwise provide access tothe attribute data as it becomes available. In example embodiments, theattribute sources 1210 may include user device sources 1220, user datasources 1230, transportation sources 1240, materials sources 1250, thirdparty sources 1260, home sources 1270, and a variety of other sources.As will be discussed in connection with FIG. 13 the attribute sources1210 may be associated with a wide variety of sensors, gauges,measurement components, and other components.

In an example embodiment, the attribute data may include datacorresponding to the user device sources 1220. The user device sources1220 may include such non-limiting examples as a personal computer (PC),a tablet computer, a laptop computer, a netbook, a set-top box (STB), apersonal digital assistant (PDA), an entertainment media system, acellular telephone, a smart phone, a mobile device, a wearable device(e.g., a smart watch), a smart home device (e.g., a smart appliance),and other smart devices. As will be discussed further in connection withFIG. 13, the attribute data corresponding to the user device sources1220 may include data associated with sensors, gauges, and othermeasurement components such as environmental sensor data (e.g., ambienttemperature), biometric sensor data (e.g., heart rate), detection data(e.g., detection of a Near Field Communication (NFC) beacon), motiondata (e.g., acceleration), position data (e.g., location as determinedby a GPS of a mobile device), and so forth.

In further example embodiments, the attribute data corresponding to theuser device sources 1220 may include data such as device type, devicemodel, device name, a unique device identifier, and other deviceparameters. In some example embodiments, the device type data mayprovide a basis for an inference associated with the attribute data. Forinstance, if the device type data indicates that the device is a mobiledevice of the user, location data corresponding to the mobile device mayindicate the location of the user. Similarly, if the device type is amedia entertainment system, the attribute data corresponding to themedia entertainment system may be associated with a home of the user.

The user data sources 1230 may include calendars (e.g., user calendarevents such as birthdays, trips, exams), user profiles (e.g.,demographic information such as age, gender, income level), purchasehistories, browse histories (e.g., search terms), social media content(e.g., checkins, posts, connections), other user data (e.g., bookmarkedwebsites, preferences or settings for various applications, applicationusage data such as time spent using a particular application), and thelike. The attribute data corresponding to the user data sources 1230 maybe stored, for example, by the user device sources 1220 (e.g., a mobiledevice that includes a mobile browser with browse history of the user),application server(s) 140 (e.g., payment history of the user stored inpayment system(s) 144, user profiles stored by an e-commerce website),the third party server(s) 130 (e.g., social media data stored in asocial networking service), and so on. For example, the attribute datacorresponding to the user device sources 1220 may include deviceresource data. The device resource data may include files stored on thedevices or metadata associated with the files. For instance, the deviceresources may include digital media files (e.g., MP3 formatted songs) orapps (e.g., pedometer app). The metadata associated with the deviceresources may include usage data such as number of times a song has beenplayed, amount of time using a particular app, and so forth.

As cars and other forms of transportation become increasingly equippedwith sensors and the ability to communicate, a vast amount of data maybe provided by the transportation sources 1240. For example, theattribute data corresponding to the transportation sources 1240 mayinclude acceleration data, velocity data, and other sensors data (e.g.,brake pad wear data, gear shifting data). In this example, the attributedata corresponding to the transportation sources 1240 may provideindications of a user's driving patterns and styles (e.g., comes to acomplete stop at a stop sign, speeds, or finicky use of the brakes).

The materials sources 1250, such as clothing and structures, are alsoincreasingly gaining the ability to capture data. In various exampleembodiments, the attribute data may include data corresponding to thematerials sources 1250. For example, clothing may be embedded withsensors to detect motion. Data from these sensors may provideindications of whether the user is agile or inactive. In anotherexample, clothing may be embedded with biometric sensors that mayprovide continuous feed of biometric data corresponding to the user. Thebiometric data may provide indications of the user's health, athleticability, and many other characteristics corresponding to the user.Similarly, structures may be equipped with sensors to passively oractively monitor the surrounding environment (e.g., street cameras,traffic cameras, and other sensors).

In example embodiments, the attribute data may include data associatedwith the third party sources 1260. The third party sources 1260 may alsoprovide an abundance of data associated with the user. For instance, theattribute data may include data accessed from government websites orother public records that may provide criminal histories, civil citationhistories, credit histories, or other publicly available information.

Nearly every facet of a smart home may be capable of providing dataassociated with the user. The attribute data may include datacorresponding to the home sources 1270. For instance, the home sources1270 may include smart appliances, consumables, utilities, and manyother smart home devices. In a few specific instances, the attributedata may include consumable inventories and consumption rates of variousconsumable goods (e.g., milk, bread) tracked or monitored by smartrefrigerators. In another instance, the attribute data may includeutility usage data (e.g., electricity, water). Analysis of the utilityusage data may indicate patterns or status of the user, such as, theuser being on vacation, the user being ill (e.g., increasing housethermostat set temperature to cope with a cold), the user being anenergy conscious consumer, and so on.

FIG. 13 depicts non-limiting example components 1300 that may provideattribute data according to some example embodiments. In exampleembodiments, I/O components 1310 may include input components 1320,output components 1330, environmental components 1340, motion components1350, position components 1360, biometric components 1370, communicationcomponents 1380, detection components 1390, and a wide gamut of othersensors, gauges, and measurement components. The I/O components 1310 ora suitable combination of the I/O components 1310 may be included in anysuitable device or machine such as those included in the attributesources 1210 depicted in FIG. 12 to facilitate the functionalitydescribed herein. In various example embodiments, the attribute dataprovided by the I/O components 1310 may be accessible to all or some ofthe modules described above on a real-time or near real-time basis. Thecomponents 1300 are grouped according to functionality merely forsimplifying the following discussion and the grouping is in no waylimiting.

The input components 1320 may include alphanumeric input components(e.g., a keyboard, a touch screen configured to receive alphanumericinput, a photo-optical keyboard, or other alphanumeric inputcomponents), point-based input components (e.g., a mouse, a touchpad, atrackball, a joystick, a motion sensor, or other pointing instrument),tactile input components (e.g., a physical button, a touch screen thatprovide location and force of touches or touch gestures, or othertactile input components), audio input components (e.g., a microphone),and the like. The input components 1320 may receive input from the userto facilitate the functionalities described herein. For instance, theuser may interact with a user interface using the input components 1320.

The output components 1330 may include visual components (e.g., adisplay such as a plasma display panel (PDP), a light emitting diode(LED) display, a liquid crystal display (LCD), a projector, or a cathoderay tube (CRT)), acoustic components (e.g., speakers), haptic components(e.g., a vibratory motor), other signal generators, and so forth. Theoutput components 1330 may present information to the user. For example,the output components 1330 may present a user interface to the user orpresent media files to the user.

The environmental components 1340 may include illumination sensors(e.g., photometer), temperature sensors (e.g., one or more thermometersthat detect ambient temperature), humidity sensors, pressure sensors(e.g., barometer), acoustic sensors (e.g., one or more microphone thatdetects background noise), proximity sensors (e.g., an infrared sensorthat detects nearby objects), gas sensors (e.g., gas detection sensorsto detection concentrations of hazardous gases for safety or to measurepollutants in the atmosphere), and so on. The environmental components1340 may measure various physical parameters to provide an indication orsignal corresponding to the physical environment surrounding theenvironmental components 1340.

The motion components 1350 may include acceleration sensors (e.g.,accelerometer), gravitation sensors, rotation sensors (e.g., gyroscope),and so forth. The motion components 1350 may provide motion data such asvelocity, acceleration, or other force measurements along an x, y, and zaxes. The motion data may be provided at a regular update rate (e.g., 10updates per second) that may be configurable.

The position components 1360 may include location sensors (e.g., aGlobal Position System (GPS) receiver component), altitude sensors(e.g., altimeters or barometers that detect air pressure from whichaltitude may be derived), orientation sensors (e.g., magnetometers thatprovide magnetic field strength along the x, y, and z axes), and thelike. In an example embodiment, the position components 1360 may provideposition data such as latitude, longitude, altitude, and a time stamp.Similar to the motion components 1350, the position components 1360 mayprovide the motion data at a regular update rate that may beconfigurable.

The biometric components 1370 may include components to detectexpressions, measure biosignals, or identify people, among otherfunctions. For example, the biometric components 1370 may includeexpression components to detect expressions (also referred to as“kinesics”) such as hand gestures (e.g., an optical component to detecta hand gesture or a Doppler component to detect hand motions), vocalexpressions (e.g., a microphone to detect changes in voice pitch thatmay indicate tension), facial expressions (e.g., a camera to detectexpressions or micro-expressions of a person such as a smile), bodygestures, and eye tracking (e.g., detecting the focal point of aperson's eyes or patterns in eye movement). The biometric components1370 may also include, for example, biosignal components to measurebiosignals such as blood pressure, heart rate, body temperature,perspiration, and brain waves (e.g., as determined by aelectroencephalogram). In further examples, the biometric components1370 may include identification components to identify people such asretinal scanners (e.g., a camera component), vocal detectors (e.g., amicrophone to receive audio data for voice identification), facialdetectors, fingerprint detectors, and electroencephalogram sensors(e.g., to identify a person via unique brain wave patterns).

Communication may be implemented using a wide variety of technologies.The I/O components 1310 may include communication components 1380operable to communicatively couple machines or devices. For example, thecommunication components 1380 may include a network interface componentor other suitable device to interface with a network (e.g., the network104). In further examples, the communication components 1380 may includewired communication components, wireless communication components,cellular communication components, Near Field Communication (NFC)components, Bluetooth® components (e.g., Bluetooth® Low Energy), Wi-Fi®components, and other communication components to provide communicationvia other modalities. In addition, a variety of information may bederived using the communication components 1380 such as location viaInternet Protocol (IP) geo-location, location via Wi-Fi® signaltriangulation, location via detecting a NFC beacon signal that mayindicate a particular location, and so forth.

The I/O components 1310 may include detection components 1390 that maydetect a variety of identifiers. For example, the detection components1390 may include Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tag readercomponents, Near Field Communication (NFC) smart tag detectioncomponents, optical reader components (e.g., an optical sensor to detectone-dimensional bar codes such as Universal Product Code (UPC) bar code,multi-dimensional bar codes such as Quick Response (QR) code, Azteccode, Data Matrix, Dataglyph, MaxiCode, PDF417, Ultra Code, UCC RSS-2Dbar code, and other optical codes), and acoustic detection components(e.g., microphones to identify tagged audio signals).

FIG. 14 is a block diagram 1400 of an example data structure for theattribute data associated with a particular user according to exampleembodiments. In example embodiments, the attribute data may beassociated with a plurality of users such as user 1402, 1404, 1406,1408, 1410, 1412, and 1414. In an example embodiment, the attribute datamay be accessed for a particular user by using a user identifier. Theattribute data may include profile data 1420, device data 1422, calendardata 1424, list data 1426, list type data 1428, interest data 1430,fitment data 1432, garment type data 1434, preference data 1436,measured dimension data 1438, fitness goal data 1440, reward data 1442,location data 1444, and other data not shown. In some exampleembodiments, the attribute data may be structured such that variousportions of the attribute data are associated with other portions of theattribute data via relationships. For instance, the calendar data 1424may include a calendar event associated with an event name, an eventdata, and an event location for the calendar event.

FIG. 15 is a block diagram 1500 of an example data structure for dataassociated with a device according to some example embodiments. In anexample embodiment, the device data 1422 of FIG. 14 may include a deviceidentifier, a device name, device resources data (e.g., files stores onthe devices such as browser cookies, media files), I/O component data,and so forth. In example embodiments, the device identifier may, forexample, comprise an Internet Protocol (IP) address, a Media AccessControl (MAC) address, other unique identifies, an International MobileStation Equipment Identity (IMEI), or a Mobile Equipment Identifier(MEID). In an example embodiment, the I/O component data may includestandard device parameters 1502, position data 1504, location data 1506,motion data 1508, environmental data 1510, biometric data 1512, andother data. FIG. 15 merely depicts example attribute data that maycorrespond to a particular device, and a variety of other data not shownmay be included in the device data. The standard device parameters 1502may include parameters that are standard across multiple devicesincluded in the IoT. In various example embodiments, standardizedparameters and protocols may facilitate access and utilization of theattribute data corresponding to such devices. For example, the attributedata available on an unknown device may be accessed and utilized withoutthe need to discover or otherwise determine which parameters areavailable and which units of measure are associated with the parameters.Many other schemes may be employed to discover or otherwise determineavailable parameters accessible on a particular device.

Modules, Components, and Logic

Certain embodiments are described herein as including logic or a numberof components, modules, or mechanisms. Modules may constitute eithersoftware modules (e.g., code embodied on a machine-readable medium or ina transmission signal) or hardware modules. A “hardware module” is atangible unit capable of performing certain operations and may beconfigured or arranged in a certain physical manner. In various exampleembodiments, one or more computer systems (e.g., a standalone computersystem, a client computer system, or a server computer system) or one ormore hardware modules of a computer system (e.g., a processor or a groupof processors) may be configured by software (e.g., an application orapplication portion) as a hardware module that operates to performcertain operations as described herein.

In some embodiments, a hardware module may be implemented mechanically,electronically, or any suitable combination thereof. For example, ahardware module may include dedicated circuitry or logic that ispermanently configured to perform certain operations. For example, ahardware module may be a special-purpose processor, such as aField-Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) or an Application SpecificIntegrated Circuit (ASIC). A hardware module may also includeprogrammable logic or circuitry that is temporarily configured bysoftware to perform certain operations. For example, a hardware modulemay include software encompassed within a general-purpose processor orother programmable processor. It will be appreciated that the decisionto implement a hardware module mechanically, in dedicated andpermanently configured circuitry, or in temporarily configured circuitry(e.g., configured by software) may be driven by cost and timeconsiderations.

Accordingly, the phrase “hardware module” should be understood toencompass a tangible entity, be that an entity that is physicallyconstructed, permanently configured (e.g., hardwired), or temporarilyconfigured (e.g., programmed) to operate in a certain manner or toperform certain operations described herein. As used herein,“hardware-implemented module” refers to a hardware module. Consideringembodiments in which hardware modules are temporarily configured (e.g.,programmed), each of the hardware modules need not be configured orinstantiated at any one instance in time. For example, where a hardwaremodule comprises a general-purpose processor configured by software tobecome a special-purpose processor, the general-purpose processor may beconfigured as respectively different special-purpose processors (e.g.,comprising different hardware modules) at different times. Software mayaccordingly configure a particular processor or processors, for example,to constitute a particular hardware module at one instance of time andto constitute a different hardware module at a different instance oftime.

Hardware modules can provide information to, and receive informationfrom, other hardware modules. Accordingly, the described hardwaremodules may be regarded as being communicatively coupled. Where multiplehardware modules exist contemporaneously, communications may be achievedthrough signal transmission (e.g., over appropriate circuits and buses)between or among two or more of the hardware modules. In embodiments inwhich multiple hardware modules are configured or instantiated atdifferent times, communications between such hardware modules may beachieved, for example, through the storage and retrieval of informationin memory structures to which the multiple hardware modules have access.For example, one hardware module may perform an operation and store theoutput of that operation in a memory device to which it iscommunicatively coupled. A further hardware module may then, at a latertime, access the memory device to retrieve and process the storedoutput. Hardware modules may also initiate communications with input oroutput devices, and can operate on a resource (e.g., a collection ofinformation).

The various operations of example methods described herein may beperformed, at least partially, by one or more processors that aretemporarily configured (e.g., by software) or permanently configured toperform the relevant operations. Whether temporarily or permanentlyconfigured, such processors may constitute processor-implemented modulesthat operate to perform one or more operations or functions describedherein. As used herein, “processor-implemented module” refers to ahardware module implemented using one or more processors.

Similarly, the methods described herein may be at least partiallyprocessor-implemented, with a particular processor or processors beingan example of hardware. For example, at least some of the operations ofa method may be performed by one or more processors orprocessor-implemented modules. Moreover, the one or more processors mayalso operate to support performance of the relevant operations in a“cloud computing” environment or as a “software as a service” (SaaS).For example, at least some of the operations may be performed by a groupof computers (as examples of machines including processors), with theseoperations being accessible via a network (e.g., the Internet) and viaone or more appropriate interfaces (e.g., an Application ProgramInterface (API)).

The performance of certain of the operations may be distributed amongthe processors, not only residing within a single machine, but deployedacross a number of machines. In some example embodiments, the processorsor processor-implemented modules may be located in a single geographiclocation (e.g., within a home environment, an office environment, or aserver farm). In other example embodiments, the processors orprocessor-implemented modules may be distributed across a number ofgeographic locations.

Applications

FIG. 16 illustrates an example mobile device 1600 that may be executinga mobile operating system (e.g., iOS™, Android™, Windows® Phone, orother mobile operating systems), according to example embodiments. Inone embodiment, the mobile device 1600 may include a touch screen thatmay receive tactile information from a user 1602. For instance, the user1602 may physically touch 1604 the mobile device 1600, and in responseto the touch 1604, the mobile device 1600 may determine tactileinformation such as touch location, touch force, gesture motion, and soforth. In various example embodiment, the mobile device 1600 may displayhome screen 1606 (e.g., Springboard on iOS™) that the user 1602 of themobile device 1600 may use to launch applications and otherwise managethe mobile device 1600. In various example embodiments, the home screen1606 may provide status information such as battery life, connectivity,or other hardware status. The home screen 1606 may also include aplurality of icons that may be activated to launch applications, forexample, by touching the area occupied by the icon. Similarly, otheruser interface elements may be activated by touching an area occupied bya particular user interface element. In this manner, the user 1602 mayinteract with the applications.

Many varieties of applications (also referred to as “apps”) may beexecuting on the mobile device 1600. The applications may include nativeapplications (e.g., applications programmed in Objective-C running oniOS™ or applications programmed in Java running on Android™), mobile webapplications (e.g., HTML5), or hybrid applications (e.g., a native shellapplication that launches an HTML5 session). In a specific example, themobile device 1600 may include a messaging app 1620, audio recording app1622, a camera app 1624, a book reader app 1626, a media app 1628, afitness app 1630, a file management app 1632, a location app 1634, abrowser app 1636, a settings app 1638, a contacts app 1640, a telephonecall app 1642, other apps (e.g., gaming apps, social networking apps,biometric monitoring apps), a third party app 1644, and so forth.

Software Architecture

FIG. 17 is a block diagram 1700 illustrating an architecture of software1702, which may be installed on any one or more of devices describedabove. FIG. 17 is merely a non-limiting example of a softwarearchitecture and it will be appreciated that many other architecturesmay be implemented to facilitate the functionality described herein. Thesoftware 1702 may be executing on hardware such as machine 1800 of FIG.18 that includes processors 1810, memory 1830, and I/O components 1850.In the example architecture of FIG. 17, the software 1702 may beconceptualized as a stack of layers where each layer may provideparticular functionality. For example, the software 1702 may includelayers such as an operating system 1704, libraries 1706, frameworks1708, and applications 1710. Operationally, the applications 1710 mayinvoke application programming interface (API) calls 1712 through thesoftware stack and receive messages 1714 in response to the API calls1712.

The operating system 1704 may manage hardware resources and providecommon services. The operating system 1704 may include, for example, akernel 1720, services 1722, and drivers 1724. The kernel 1720 may act asan abstraction layer between the hardware and the other software layers.For example, the kernel 1720 may be responsible for memory management,processor management (e.g., scheduling), component management,networking, security settings, and so on. The services 1722 may provideother common services for the other software layers. The drivers 1724may be responsible for controlling or interfacing with the underlyinghardware. For instance, the drivers 1724 may include display drivers,camera drivers, Bluetooth® drivers, flash memory drivers, serialcommunication drivers (e.g., Universal Serial Bus (USB) drivers), Wi-Fi®drivers, audio drivers, power management drivers, and so forth.

The libraries 1706 may provide a low-level common infrastructure thatmay be utilized by the applications 1710. The libraries 1706 may includesystem 1730 libraries (e.g., C standard library) that may providefunctions such as memory allocation functions, string manipulationfunctions, mathematic functions, and the like. In addition, thelibraries 1706 may include API libraries 1732 such as media libraries(e.g., libraries to support presentation and manipulation of variousmedia formats such as MPREG4, H.264, MP3, AAC, AMR, JPG, PNG), graphicslibraries (e.g., an OpenGL framework that may be used to render 2D and3D in a graphic content on a display), database libraries (e.g., SQLitethat may provide various relational database functions), web libraries(e.g., WebKit that may provide web browsing functionality), and thelike. The libraries 1706 may also include a wide variety of otherlibraries 1734 to provide many other APIs to the applications 1710.

The frameworks 1708 may provide a high-level common infrastructure thatmay be utilized by the applications 1710. For example, the frameworks1708 may provide various graphic user interface (GUI) functions,high-level resource management, high-level location services, and soforth. The frameworks 1708 may provide a broad spectrum of other APIsthat may be utilized by the applications 1710, some of which may bespecific to a particular operating system or platform.

The applications 1710 include a home application 1750, a contactsapplication 1752, a browser application 1754, a book reader application1756, a location application 1758, a media application 1760, a messagingapplication 1762, a game application 1764, and a broad assortment ofother applications such as third party application 1766. In a specificexample, the third party application 1766 (e.g., an applicationdeveloped using the Android™ or iOS™ software development kit (SDK) byan entity other than the vendor of the particular platform) may bemobile software running on a mobile operating system such as iOS™,Android™, Windows® Phone, or other mobile operating systems. In thisexample, the third party application 1766 may invoke the API calls 1712provided by the mobile operating system 1704 to facilitate functionalitydescribed herein.

Example Machine Architecture and Machine-Readable Medium

FIG. 18 is a block diagram illustrating components of a machine 1800,according to some example embodiments, able to read instructions from amachine-readable medium (e.g., a machine-readable storage medium) andperform any one or more of the methodologies discussed herein.Specifically, FIG. 18 shows a diagrammatic representation of the machine1800 in the example form of a computer system, within which instructions1816 (e.g., software, a program, an application, an applet, an app, orother executable code) for causing the machine 1800 to perform any oneor more of the methodologies discussed herein may be executed. Inalternative embodiments, the machine 1800 operates as a standalonedevice or may be coupled (e.g., networked) to other machines. In anetworked deployment, the machine 1800 may operate in the capacity of aserver machine or a client machine in a server-client networkenvironment, or as a peer machine in a peer-to-peer (or distributed)network environment. The machine 1800 may comprise, but not be limitedto, a server computer, a client computer, a personal computer (PC), atablet computer, a laptop computer, a netbook, a set-top box (STB), apersonal digital assistant (PDA), an entertainment media system, acellular telephone, a smart phone, a mobile device, a wearable device(e.g., a smart watch), a smart home device (e.g., a smart appliance),other smart devices, a web appliance, a network router, a networkswitch, a network bridge, or any machine capable of executing theinstructions 1816, sequentially or otherwise, that specify actions to betaken by machine 1800. Further, while only a single machine 1800 isillustrated, the term “machine” shall also be taken to include acollection of machines 1800 that individually or jointly execute theinstructions 1816 to perform any one or more of the methodologiesdiscussed herein.

The machine 1800 may include processors 1810, memory 1830, and I/Ocomponents 1850, which may be configured to communicate with each othervia a bus 1802. In an example embodiment, the processors 1810 (e.g., aCentral Processing Unit (CPU), a Reduced Instruction Set Computing(RISC) processor, a Complex Instruction Set Computing (CISC) processor,a Graphics Processing Unit (GPU), a Digital Signal Processor (DSP), anApplication Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), a Radio-FrequencyIntegrated Circuit (RFIC), another processor, or any suitablecombination thereof) may include, for example, processor 1812 andprocessor 1814 that may execute instructions 1816. The term “processor”is intended to include multi-core processor that may comprise two ormore independent processors (also referred to as “cores”) that mayexecute instructions contemporaneously. Although FIG. 18 shows multipleprocessors, the machine 1800 may include a single processor with asingle core, a single processor with multiple cores (e.g., a multi-coreprocess), multiple processors with a single core, multiple processorswith multiples cores, or any combination thereof.

The memory 1830 may include a main memory 1832, a static memory 1834,and a storage unit 1836 accessible to the processors 1810 via the bus1802. The storage unit 1836 may include a machine-readable medium 1838on which is stored the instructions 1816 embodying any one or more ofthe methodologies or functions described herein. The instructions 1816may also reside, completely or at least partially, within the mainmemory 1832, within the static memory 1834, within at least one of theprocessors 1810 (e.g., within the processor's cache memory), or anysuitable combination thereof, during execution thereof by the machine1800. Accordingly, the main memory 1832, static memory 1834, and theprocessors 1810 may be considered as machine-readable media 1838.

As used herein, the term “memory” refers to a machine-readable medium1838 able to store data temporarily or permanently and may be taken toinclude, but not be limited to, random-access memory (RAM), read-onlymemory (ROM), buffer memory, flash memory, and cache memory. While themachine-readable medium 1838 is shown in an example embodiment to be asingle medium, the term “machine-readable medium” should be taken toinclude a single medium or multiple media (e.g., a centralized ordistributed database, or associated caches and servers) able to storeinstructions 1816. The term “machine-readable medium” shall also betaken to include any medium, or combination of multiple media, that iscapable of storing instructions (e.g., instructions 1816) for executionby a machine (e.g., machine 1800), such that the instructions, whenexecuted by one or more processors of the machine 1800 (e.g., processors1810), cause the machine 1800 to perform any one or more of themethodologies described herein. Accordingly, a “machine-readable medium”refers to a single storage apparatus or device, as well as “cloud-based”storage systems or storage networks that include multiple storageapparatus or devices. The term “machine-readable medium” shallaccordingly be taken to include, but not be limited to, one or more datarepositories in the form of a solid-state memory (e.g., flash memory),an optical medium, a magnetic medium, other non-volatile memory (e.g.,Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory (EPROM)), or any suitablecombination thereof. The term “machine-readable medium” specificallyexcludes non-statutory signals per se.

The I/O components 1850 may include a wide variety of components toreceive input, provide output, produce output, transmit information,exchange information, capture measurements, and so on. It will beappreciated that the I/O components 1850 may include many othercomponents that are not shown in FIG. 18. The I/O components 1850 aregrouped according to functionality merely for simplifying the followingdiscussion and the grouping is in no way limiting. In various exampleembodiments, the I/O components 1850 may include output components 1852and input components 1854. The output components 1852 may include visualcomponents (e.g., a display such as a plasma display panel (PDP), alight emitting diode (LED) display, a liquid crystal display (LCD), aprojector, or a cathode ray tube (CRT)), acoustic components (e.g.,speakers), haptic components (e.g., a vibratory motor), other signalgenerators, and so forth. The input components 1854 may includealphanumeric input components (e.g., a keyboard, a touch screenconfigured to receive alphanumeric input, a photo-optical keyboard, orother alphanumeric input components), point based input components(e.g., a mouse, a touchpad, a trackball, a joystick, a motion sensor, orother pointing instrument), tactile input components (e.g., a physicalbutton, a touch screen that provides location and force of touches ortouch gestures, or other tactile input components), audio inputcomponents (e.g., a microphone), and the like.

In further example embodiments, the I/O components 1850 may includebiometric components 1856, motion components 1858, environmentalcomponents 1860, or position components 1862 among a wide array of othercomponents. For example, the biometric components 1856 may includecomponents to detect expressions (e.g., hand expressions, facialexpressions, vocal expressions, body gestures, or eye tracking), measurebiosignals (e.g., blood pressure, heart rate, body temperature,perspiration, or brain waves), identify a person (e.g., voiceidentification, retinal identification, facial identification,fingerprint identification, or electroencephalogram basedidentification), and the like. The motion components 1858 may includeacceleration sensor components (e.g., accelerometer), gravitation sensorcomponents, rotation sensor components (e.g., gyroscope), and so forth.The environmental components 1860 may include, for example, illuminationsensor components (e.g., photometer), temperature sensor components(e.g., one or more thermometer that detect ambient temperature),humidity sensor components, pressure sensor components (e.g.,barometer), acoustic sensor components (e.g., one or more microphonesthat detect background noise), proximity sensor components (e.g.,infrared sensors that detect nearby objects), gas sensors (e.g., gasdetection sensors to detection concentrations of hazardous gases forsafety or to measure pollutants in the atmosphere), or other componentsthat may provide indications, measurements, or signals corresponding toa surrounding physical environment. The position components 1862 mayinclude location sensor components (e.g., a Global Position System (GPS)receiver component), altitude sensor components (e.g., altimeters orbarometers that detect air pressure from which altitude may be derived),orientation sensor components (e.g., magnetometers), and the like.

Communication may be implemented using a wide variety of technologies.The I/O components 1850 may include communication components 1864operable to couple the machine 1800 to a network 1880 or devices 1870via coupling 1882 and coupling 1872 respectively. For example, thecommunication components 1864 may include a network interface componentor other suitable device to interface with the network 1880. In furtherexamples, communication components 1864 may include wired communicationcomponents, wireless communication components, cellular communicationcomponents, Near Field Communication (NFC) components, Bluetooth®components (e.g., Bluetooth® Low Energy), Wi-Fi® components, and othercommunication components to provide communication via other modalities.The devices 1870 may be another machine or any of a wide variety ofperipheral devices (e.g., a peripheral device coupled via a UniversalSerial Bus (USB)).

Moreover, the communication components 1864 may detect identifiers orinclude components operable to detect identifiers. For example, thecommunication components 1864 may include Radio Frequency Identification(RFID) tag reader components, NFC smart tag detection components,optical reader components (e.g., an optical sensor to detectone-dimensional bar codes such as Universal Product Code (UPC) bar code,multi-dimensional bar codes such as Quick Response (QR) code, Azteccode, Data Matrix, Dataglyph, MaxiCode, PDF417, Ultra Code, UCC RSS-2Dbar code, and other optical codes), or acoustic detection components(e.g., microphones to identify tagged audio signals). In addition, avariety of information may be derived via the communication components1864, such as, location via Internet Protocol (IP) geo-location,location via Wi-Fi® signal triangulation, location via detecting a NFCbeacon signal that may indicate a particular location, and so forth.

Transmission Medium

In various example embodiments, one or more portions of the network 1880may be an ad hoc network, an intranet, an extranet, a virtual privatenetwork (VPN), a local area network (LAN), a wireless LAN (WLAN), a widearea network (WAN), a wireless WAN (WWAN), a metropolitan area network(MAN), the Internet, a portion of the Internet, a portion of the PublicSwitched Telephone Network (PSTN), a plain old telephone service (POTS)network, a cellular telephone network, a wireless network, a Wi-Fi®network, another type of network, or a combination of two or more suchnetworks. For example, the network 1880 or a portion of the network 1880may include a wireless or cellular network and the coupling 1882 may bea Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) connection, a Global System forMobile communications (GSM) connection, or other type of cellular orwireless coupling. In this example, the coupling 1882 may implement anyof a variety of types of data transfer technology, such as SingleCarrier Radio Transmission Technology (1×RTT), Evolution-Data Optimized(EVDO) technology, General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) technology,Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE) technology, thirdGeneration Partnership Project (3GPP) including 3G, fourth generationwireless (4G) networks, Universal Mobile Telecommunications System(UMTS), High Speed Packet Access (HSPA), Worldwide Interoperability forMicrowave Access (WiMAX), Long Term Evolution (LTE) standard, othersdefined by various standard setting organizations, other long rangeprotocols, or other data transfer technology.

The instructions 1816 may be transmitted or received over the network1880 using a transmission medium via a network interface device (e.g., anetwork interface component included in the communication components1864) and utilizing any one of a number of well-known transfer protocols(e.g., hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP)). Similarly, the instructions1816 may be transmitted or received using a transmission medium via thecoupling 1872 (e.g., a peer-to-peer coupling) to devices 1870. The term“transmission medium” shall be taken to include any intangible mediumthat is capable of storing, encoding, or carrying instructions 1816 forexecution by the machine 1800, and includes digital or analogcommunications signals or other intangible medium to facilitatecommunication of such software.

Furthermore, the machine-readable medium 1838 is non-transitory (inother words, not having any transitory signals) in that it does notembody a propagating signal. However, labeling the machine-readablemedium 1838 as “non-transitory” should not be construed to mean that themedium is incapable of movement, the medium should be considered asbeing transportable from one physical location to another. Additionally,since the machine-readable medium 1838 is tangible, the medium may beconsidered to be a machine-readable device.

Language

Throughout this specification, plural instances may implementcomponents, operations, or structures described as a single instance.Although individual operations of one or more methods are illustratedand described as separate operations, one or more of the individualoperations may be performed concurrently, and nothing requires that theoperations be performed in the order illustrated. Structures andfunctionality presented as separate components in example configurationsmay be implemented as a combined structure or component. Similarly,structures and functionality presented as a single component may beimplemented as separate components. These and other variations,modifications, additions, and improvements fall within the scope of thesubject matter herein.

Although an overview of the inventive subject matter has been describedwith reference to specific example embodiments, various modificationsand changes may be made to these embodiments without departing from thebroader scope of embodiments of the present disclosure. Such embodimentsof the inventive subject matter may be referred to herein, individuallyor collectively, by the term “invention” merely for convenience andwithout intending to voluntarily limit the scope of this application toany single disclosure or inventive concept if more than one is, in fact,disclosed.

The embodiments illustrated herein are described in sufficient detail toenable those skilled in the art to practice the teachings disclosed.Other embodiments may be used and derived therefrom, such thatstructural and logical substitutions and changes may be made withoutdeparting from the scope of this disclosure. The Detailed Description,therefore, is not to be taken in a limiting sense, and the scope ofvarious embodiments is defined only by the appended claims, along withthe full range of equivalents to which such claims are entitled.

As used herein, the term “or” may be construed in either an inclusive orexclusive sense. Moreover, plural instances may be provided forresources, operations, or structures described herein as a singleinstance. Additionally, boundaries between various resources,operations, modules, engines, and data stores are somewhat arbitrary,and particular operations are illustrated in a context of specificillustrative configurations. Other allocations of functionality areenvisioned and may fall within a scope of various embodiments of thepresent disclosure. In general, structures and functionality presentedas separate resources in the example configurations may be implementedas a combined structure or resource. Similarly, structures andfunctionality presented as a single resource may be implemented asseparate resources. These and other variations, modifications,additions, and improvements fall within a scope of embodiments of thepresent disclosure as represented by the appended claims. Thespecification and drawings are, accordingly, to be regarded in anillustrative rather than a restrictive sense.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system comprising: at least one hardwareprocessor; and a memory storing instructions that, when executed by theat least one hardware processor cause the system to perform operationscomprising: generating an avatar representation of a user; receivinguser input comprising a user-specified change to the avatarrepresentation; changing the avatar representation based on theuser-specified change to the avatar representation; determining acurrent status of the user based on real-time data obtained from a firstclient device associated with the user; generating an updated avatarrepresentation based on the current status of the user; and causing oneor more second client devices to display the updated avatar inassociation with a communication of the user.
 2. The system of claim 1,wherein the generating of the avatar representation of the user is basedon user data descriptive of the user, the user data comprisingdemographic data and social media content of the user.
 3. The system ofclaim 2, wherein the operations further comprise receiving, the userdata from a plurality of attribute sources comprising a plurality ofelectronic devices.
 4. The system of claim 2, wherein the user dataincludes real-time sensor data produced by one or more sensors of thefirst client device.
 5. The system of claim 2, wherein the user dataincludes data from one or more biometric components of the first clientdevice, the one or more biometric components being configured to detectone or more kinesics associated with the user.
 6. The system of claim 2,wherein: the generating of the avatar representation of the usercomprises inferring visually exemplifiable user characteristicscorresponding to the user based on an analysis of the user data, theuser characteristics comprising a physical trait and a personalitytrait; and the generating of the avatar representation of the user isbased at least in part on the inferred physical trait and the inferredpersonality trait.
 7. The system of claim 6, wherein the operationsfurther comprise: inferring subsequent user characteristics based, atleast in part, on user input; and wherein the changing the avatarrepresentation is based, at least in part, on the subsequent usercharacteristics.
 8. The system of claim 7, wherein the user inputcomprises a user interaction with the updated avatar.
 9. The system ofclaim 1, wherein: determining the current status of the user comprisesdetermining a facial expression of the user; and generating the updatedavatar representation comprises determining a graphical representationof the facial expression of the user.
 10. A method comprising:generating an avatar representation of a user; receiving user inputcomprising a user-specified change to the avatar representation;changing the avatar representation based on the user-specified change tothe avatar representation; determining a current status of the userbased on real-time data obtained from a first client device associatedwith the user; generating an updated avatar representation based on thecurrent status of the user; and causing one or more second clientdevices to display the updated avatar in association with acommunication of the user.
 11. The method of claim 10, wherein thegenerating of the avatar representation of the user is based on userdata descriptive of the user, the user data comprising demographic dataand social media content of the user.
 12. The method of claim 11,further comprising: receiving, the user data from a plurality ofattribute sources comprising a plurality of electronic devices.
 13. Themethod of claim 11, wherein the user data includes real-time sensor dataproduced by one or more sensors of the first client device.
 14. Themethod of claim 11, wherein the user data includes data from one or morebiometric components of the first client device, the one or morebiometric components being configured to detect one or more kinesicsassociated with the user.
 15. The method of claim 11, wherein: thegenerating of the avatar representation of the user comprises inferringvisually exemplifiable user characteristics corresponding to the userbased on an analysis of the user data, the user characteristicscomprising a physical trait and a personality trait; and the generatingof the avatar representation of the user is based at least in part onthe inferred physical trait and the interred personality trait.
 16. Themethod of claim 15, further comprising: inferring subsequent usercharacteristics based, at least in part, on user input; and wherein thechanging the avatar representation is based, at least in part, on thesubsequent user characteristics.
 17. The method of claim 16, wherein theuser input comprises a user interaction with the updated avatar.
 18. Themethod of claim 10, wherein: determining the current status of the usercomprises determining a facial expression of the user; and generatingthe updated avatar representation comprises determining a graphicalrepresentation of the facial expression of the user.
 19. The method ofclaim 10, further comprising: determining satisfaction of a rewardcriteria associated with the user data; and providing a reward to theuser based on the determined satisfaction of the reward criteria,wherein the reward comprises a visualization feature.
 20. Anon-transitory machine-readable medium storing instructions that, whenexecuted by at least one processor of a machine, cause the machine toperform operations comprising: generating an avatar representation of auser; receiving user input comprising a user-specified change to theavatar representation; changing the avatar representation based on theuser-specified change to the avatar representation; determining acurrent status of the user based on real-time data obtained from a firstclient device associated with the user; generating an updated avatarrepresentation based on the current status of the user; and causing oneor more second client devices to display the updated avatar inassociation with a communication of the user.